Schnecken
Arguably the predecessor of American cinnamon buns, Schnecken are a German pastry topped with a gooey, honey pecan mixture...and they're delicious!
Servings: 12 large schnecken
Calories: 496kcal
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 cup milk
- 4½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp instant dry yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 oz. unsalted butter softened
- 3 large eggs
For the Filling
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 3 Tbsp light corn syrup
- 4 oz. unsalted butter melted and divided
- 1½ cups pecans chopped
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ Tbsp lemon zest
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
For the Dough
- Using a microwave or stovetop, heat the milk until warm to the touch. (Note: The milk should only be warm, not hot.)
- Using a countertop mixer fitted with dough hook, add flour, sugar, yeast and salt; stir until well combined.
- Add softened butter, eggs and warm milk; mix on low speed until well combined. Increase speed to medium and mix for 4-5 minutes. Transfer dough into greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight.
For the Filling
- The next day, transfer dough to a well-floured countertop and use a rolling pin to roll dough into a large rectangle (12” x 18”).
- Lightly beat egg with 1 Tbsp of water and brush 1-inch of one of the longer edges with this egg mixture.
- Brush the rest of the dough evenly with 4 Tbsp of the melted butter. Using a small bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest; mix until well combined. Spread the filling ingredients evenly on top of the melted butter. Sprinkle raisins evenly on top of the sugar mixture.
- Beginning with the long edge that was not brushed with the egg, roll dough up into a tight cylinder.
- Using a small bowl, combine the honey, light corn syrup and the remaining 4 Tbsp of melted butter; stir until well combined. Using a pastry brush, brush this mixture evenly onto bottom of a well-greased 9”x13” baking sheet. Spread chopped pecans evenly into bottom of the pan.
- Cut dough into 1½” slices and place each slice cut-side down into prepared pan. Press dough lightly with hand to help push pecans into dough. Cover pan lightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm location for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Remove plastic wrap and bake schnecken for 32-35 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
- Invert schnecken immediately after baking onto a large plate or aluminum foil. (Note: This step is important! If you don’t invert the schnecken, the topping will stick to the pan instead of the buns.)
Nutrition
Calories: 496kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 229mg | Potassium: 223mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 355IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 3mg
